Track for track laying wheels



A rilz6,193s. J K R I 2,115,227

TRACK FOR TRACK LAYING WHEELS Filed Oct. 17, 1932 2 SheetS-Sheetl April26, 1938. J? KUCHAR 2,115,227

TRACK FOR TRACK LAYING WHEELS I I Filed Oct. 1'7, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Apr. 26, 1938 TRACK FOR TRACK LAYING WHEELS Joseph Kuchar,Chicago, Ill., assignor to Forged- Trak 00., Chicago, 111., a,corporation of Dela- Application October 17, 1932, Serial No. 638,120

7 Claims.

This invention relates to track laying wheels which comprise a trackadapted to be laid on the ground so as to support a vehicle and to beraised continuously as the vehicle proceeds.

The invention particularly relates to tracks for such wheels, comprisinga series of articulated track elements, adjacent elements being adaptedto interengage so as to provide a beam or bridge which is rigid againstdisplacement in one direction, and which is flexible with respect todisplacement in the opposite direction.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved track. V

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved track andtrack element of the general type described and claimed in my copendingapplication, Serial No. 575,177, filed November 16, 1931.

A further object of the invention is to provide a track of this type inwhich elements of the track may be more readily removed and replacedwithout disturbing the remainder of the assembly to an excessive extent.

A further object of the invention is to provide a track of this type inwhich the wear of the contacting parts of truss arms is distributed over.a greater area and is thereby minimized.

A further object of the invention is to provide a track of this type inwhich certain of the engaging elements of the truss elements arerotatably mounted.

A further object of the invention is to provide a track of this type inwhich certain of the engaging elements of the truss elements are readilyremovable and replaceable for the purpose of taking up wear.

A further object of the invention is to provide a track of this type inwhich certain of the engaging elements of the truss arms are replaceableby elements of larger size so as to take up wear.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved track andtrack element which is simple in construction and economic to assembletrack;

Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview of one of the link elements;

Fig. 4 is a perspectiveview of the other link element, and

Figs. *5, 6, 7 and 8 are views similar to thoseof Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4,showing a further embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the improved track ID is constituted by anumber of articulated" track elements H and [2, which are alternatelyarranged and which are pivotally connected inseries so that the same mayaccommodate themselves around supporting wheels in known man-' ner.Means are provided upon each track element so that adjacent trackelements interlock in such a manner that the track is rigid whensubjected to load in one direction, that is, the upward direction asviewed in Fig. 2, andis flexible and readily bent in the otherdirection. The

rigidity referred to is important in the lower portion of the track incontact with the ground, this portion acting as an inverted bridge andtaking the load applied by the vehicle supported by the track.

Each track element I I and I2 comprises a shoe plate [3 which may beformed of forged steel, rolled steel, or other suitable material. Eachplate i2 is provided with transverse grousers or ribs I4, At its forwardand rearward edges the plate I3 is provided with complementary curvedportions which cooperate with complementary surfaces upon the adjacentshoe plate in the manner shown in Fig. 2. The track element ll comprisesa shoe plate i3 and two link'elements [5 of the type illustrated in Fig.3. The link element 15 comprises a pair of bosses [6 connected by alower web or base I7 and an upper web l8. The inner edges of the base itand web I8 are connected by means of a vertical web l9 which continuesupwardly to provide a double truss arm 20 which terminates in inwardlydirected hooked ends 2| located substantially above the bosses it. Thebase or web it is provided with openings 22 whereby the shoe plate I3 isbolted to the link element. track element H are rigidly connected bymeans of pins 23 which extend transversely of the track and have a drivefit in the bosses Hi. The relation of the pins 23 to the adjacent trackelements will hereinafter be described. It will be noted that betweenthe hooked ends 2! the truss element 20'is of concave outline so as'toprovide for the flexing of the track, making room for elementshereinafter to be described. The track elements I2 are provided withlink e1ements'24 of the type shown in Fig. 4. The link element 24comprises a base plate 25, an upper plate 26 and two bosses 27 which arelocated inwardly of the base 25 and plate 26. Asbest seen in Fig. l, in

, the assembled track, the bases l1 and 25 and the upper plates [8 and26 are in longitudinal alignment and the bosses i6 and?! are displacedwith respect to the longitudinal direction'of the track and are alignedtransversely of the track; that is an opposite pair of bosses I6 isplaced'in The opposite link elements l5 of the alignment with anopposite pair of bosses 21, the

bosses 21 occupying positions within the bosses 7 The base 25 isprovided with openings 28 Where by the link element 24 may be secured tothe shoe plate l3. The track element 24 carries along its inner side anupwardly and inwardly extending truss element 29 which carries adjacentits upper edge a pair of bosses 3!]. As best seen in the upper portion.of Fig. 1, the truss element 29 is, in the assembled track, locatedinside the truss element 20. The opposite bosses 3|! of each trackelement I2 are connected transversely by means of pins 3| which have apressed fit in the bosses 30 and which project outwardly'beyond the.bosses 30 into the path of the hooked ends 2| of the truss element 20 ofthe track elements I Between the bosses 30, the pins 3| are enlarged,being preferably provided with spacing bushings 32 in which the pins 3|have a pressed fit.

The link elements l5 and 2 3 may suitably be forgings and may bereinforced by suitable webs which need not be described in detail.v Asindicated above, the top plates l8 and 26 are, in the assembled track,in alignment and form substantially continuous surfaces forthe receptionof the wheels on which the track is mounted. The opposite bosses 2770feach track element |2 receive a sleeve 33 which has a pressed fit insaid bosses. The sleeve 33 projects slightly beyond the outer faces ofthe bosses 21 and the inner faces of the bosses l6 are counterbored toreceive these projecting ends. The pins 23 have. a working fit withinthe sleeves 33 and it will be noted that the surfaces apt to be worn areenclosed within the sleeves 33 so that they are effectively protectedlength pressed thereon. A pair of pins 3| and a pair of sleeves 33 arepositioned in their final re lation and a pair of link elements 24 arepressed inwardly from either side so as to enter the ends of the pins 3|into and through the bosses 30, and to pass the sleeves 33 outwardlybeyond the bosses 21 to the desired extent. It will be seen that thisassembly gives a track element |2 which is complete'with the exceptionof the application of the shoe plate |3. This plate may beappliedforthwith or at a later stage of the assembly of the track. A pair ofthese assemblies is now located in the relative relation which they willoccupy in the assembled track. Pins 23 are passed into the sleeves 33 ofeach assembly and a pair of link elements 5 are pressed inwardly, thepins 23 being pressed into the bosses Hi. The track element I may now becompleted by securing a shoe plate' |3 to the link elements IE, or thismay be effected at a later stage of the assembly. It will readily beunderstood that any desired length of track may be built up in thismanner. i

To assemble the ends of the track together when applying same to itswheels, a. sleeve 33' is employed at one end of the track, this sleevebeing shorter than the rest of the sleeves 33, its ends lying flushwiththe outer faces of the bosses 21. A pair of rings 34 are'inserted intothe counterbores of the bosses l6 at the other end of the track and theend bosses 21 are slipped between the end bosses l6, bringingtheseibosses into alignment and bringing the end pin 3 into properrelation with the hook 2| at-the other end of thetrack. A pin 23 ispassed through the end bosses I6, the rings 34 and the sleeve 33, thispin being slightly smaller than the rest of, the pins 23 and having asliding fit in. the bosses IS. The pin 23' is held in place by cotterpins 35 at each end.

One of the great advantages of the structure described resides in theease with which any element which is broken or worn may be removed andreplaced. Thus, any shoe'plate |3 may be removed and applied to thetrack without interfering with the remainder of the assembly. One of thelink elements 15 may easily be removed and replaced with the aid of asuitable hammer or press. It is merely necessary to disconnect the boltswhich are secured to the shoe plate I3 and then force the'link elementoutwardly with sufficient force to remove the bosses I6 from the pins23. necessary first toremove the link element IS on each side thereof,whereafter the link element 24 may be forced outwardly of the sleeves 33in the same manner. The pins 3| can also be removed and replaced withoutdisturbing the remainder of the track. A considerable portion of thewear of the track occursat the point of contact of the hooked ends 2| ofthe truss memberZIl with the pins'3l. This wear may, to a great extent,be repaired by removing the pins 3| and replacing them, or it may besubstantially repaired by by their axis slightly and replacing them.

To remove one of the link elements 24 it is The operation of the trackwill readily be un- I derstood from a consideration of Fig. 2. It Willbe understood that a load applied to the under side of the. track at anintermediate point tends to force it outwardly which displacement,however, is resisted by the contacts ofthe hooked ends 2| with the pins3|. pletely flexible for movement in the opposite direction so that itcan freely run around wheels in the usual manner. These wheels areprovided to bear on each side of the track, the upper surfaces of theflanges or webs l8 and 26 providing a rail on which these wheels run. Asindicated above, the flanges l8 and 26 in the assembled track, are

in alignment for this purpose.

The construction above described may be modified in the followingmanner. Instead of the pins 3| having a pressed fit in the bosses 30they may have a free working fit therein. The pins 3| are held inassembled relation on the track by the sleeves 32 in which they have apressed fit. This modification has the important advantage that duringoperation the pins 3| rotate irregularly and the'wear to which the endsof these pins are subjected by the hooked ends 2| of the truss members5, is distributed around the whole periphery of the pins. This expedientminimizes wear at a very important point.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, '7 and 8differs from the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 primarilyin that the truss elements 2|! of the link elements |5 are located ontheinward side of the truss arms 29 of the link elements 24. The trussmembers 29 are restricted adjacent the level of the flange 26 in Thetrack is comorder to permit the necessary articulation of the projectsubstantially beyond thebosses 3|]. It

will be understood that in this modification the. pins 3| may have apressed fit in thebosses 30 and also in the sleeves32. However. in orderto 7 obtain the advantage referred to above, with respect todistributionof wear of the element coming in contact with the hooked ends 2| of thetruss members 2G, I prefer to follow one of the following twoexpedients.

First, I may insert the pins 3| with a pressed fit in the bosses 3D andI may mount the sleeves 32 on these pins with a working fit. This is theconstruction I prefer to employ because the pressed fit of the pins 3!in the bosses 30 gives a rigid connection between opposite trusselements 28 at their upper edges. In the second construction I mount thesleeve 32 on the pin 3| with a pressed fit and allow the pin 3! to havea working fit in the bosses 30. In either case the wear is distributedaround the periphery of the sleeves 32. These sleeves can readily bereplaced by forcing the pins 3! out of the bosses 30 and out of thesleeves 32. One important advantage of these constructions is that whenthe hooked ends 2i are Worn, this Wear may be compensated for by thesubstitution of sleeves 32 of somewhat larger size.

Although the invention has been disclosed in connection with thespecific details of preferred embodiments thereof, it must be understoodthat such details are not intended to be limitative of the inventionexcept in sofar as set forth in the accompanying claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A track comprising a series of track elements pivotally connectedtogether, each track element comprising a shoe plate, a pair of linkelements bolted thereto, each link element having an inwardly directedtruss member, the truss members of the track elements along the trackbeing located alternately in inner and outer positions and overlappingin the longitudinal direction of the track, a pair of pins having apressed fit in the opposite truss members of each alternate trackelement adapted to engage the truss members of the adjacent trackmembers so as to truss the track against bending in one direction, andmeans rigidly securing the link elements of each track element togetherabove its shoe plate, the said means of adjacent tracks being associatedto connect pivotally the track elements.

2. A track comprising a series of track elements pivotally connectedtogether, each track element comprising a shoe plate, a pair of linkelements bolted thereto, each link element having an inwardly directedtruss member, the truss members of the track elements along the trackbeing located alternately in inner and outer positions and overlappingin the longitudinal direction of the track, a pair of pins having apressed fit in the opposite truss members of each alternate trackelement adapted to engage the truss members of the adjacent trackmembers so as to truss the track against bending in one direction, eachsaid link element being provided with a pair of bosses, the bosses atthe end of the adjacent ends of a pair of track elements being displacedso that the bosses of one track element enter between the bosses of theother track element, a sleeve having a pressed fit in the first saidbosses, and a pin having a pressed fit'in the latter said bosses, thepin extending through the sleeve and having a working fit therein.

3. A track comprising a series of track elements pivotally connectedtogether, each track element comprising a shoe plate, a pair of linkelements bolted thereto, truss arms carried by said link elements, meanson said truss arms adapted to interengage to render the track rigidagainst bending in one direction, each link element having a boss ateach end, the bosses of alternate track elements having inner and outerpositions along the track, sleeves having a rigid pressed fit in theopposite pairs of inner bosses, and pins having a pressed fit in theopposite pairs of the outer bosses passing through said sleeves toconnect the track elements pivotally in series.

4. A track comprising a series of track elements pivotally connectedtogether, each track element comprising a shoe plate, a pair of linkelements bolted thereto, each link element having a'boss at each end,the bosses of alternate track elements having inner and outer positionsalong the track, sleeves having a rigid pressed fit in the oppositepairs of inner bosses, pins having a pressed fit in the opposite pairsof the outer bosses passing through said sleeves to connect the trackelements pivotally inseries, truss arms carried by said link elements,the arms of the link elements carrying outer bosses being located on theouter side of the truss arms of adjacent track elements, and means onsaid truss arms adapted to interengage to render the track rigid againstbending in one direction.

5. In a track, adjacent track elements pivotally connected together, onetrack element having a pair'of truss elements extending inwardly, a pinmounted in said truss. elements, a sleeve mounted on said pin, and atruss element on the other track element adapted to come into contactwith said sleeve to render the track rigid against bending in onedirection, said sleeve receiving the pin with a pressed fit and said pinhaving a working fit in the truss elements which carry it.

6. An endless tread linkage composed of articue late links, eachadjacent pair of links having rail-carrying ground-engaging shoe partswith hinge means connecting their adjacent ends, truss members upwardlyextending from said shoe parts and having oppositely directed bearingfaces for transmitting truss-forming stresses between said links, androller means arranged to be effective between said faces to providewear-preventing characteristics for their relative translatory motion,permitted by lost motion at said hinge connection due to wear when saidlinks are operating in a truss-forming stretch of linkage.

7. A tread linkage composed of articulate links, each adjacent pair oflinks having rail-carrying ground-engaging shoe parts with hinge meansconnecting their adjacent ends, truss members upwardly extending fromsaid shoe parts and having oppositely directed bearing faces fortransmitting truss-forming stresses between said links,

, and roller means arranged to be effective between said faces toprovide antifriction characteristics for their relative translatorymotion, permitted by looseness at said hinge connection, at least one ofsaid faces being concavely curved whereby upon relative translatorymotionof said links permitted by looseness at said hinge connection whensaid links are operating in a trussforming stretch of linkage, saidlinks will be caused to have relative angular motion about saidconnection in a direction to oppose the loading on said stretch.

JOSEPH KUCHAR.

